The showdown continues. Texas Republicans remain locked in a struggle for power. And it’s not with Democrats.

The tug of war is within the GOP itself, between tea partiers and economic Republicans. The former emphasize ideology, including belief in a very limited role of government. The latter focuses on solving problems, including occasionally using government to resolve them.

The tea party has had the upper hand the last two years, gaining headlines, popular support and traction in national races. Lately, though, Republicans who concentrate more on economic issues than on antipathy toward government are pushing back.

Look at Tuesday’s results from the Texas GOP primary.

When you combine the voting percentages of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, who were the exemplars of economic Republicanism in the nine-person GOP race for U.S. Senate, they got 58 percent of the vote, while tea party icon Ted Cruz received 34 percent. Yes, Cruz is in a runoff with Dewhurst, and that’s a big story. But Chamber of Commerce Republicans won the upper hand Tuesday.

These economic Republicans are showing up in battles over Texas institutions, too. That includes the dust-ups over tuition hikes at state schools.

Gov. Rick Perry has led a popular revolt against universities, arguing against tuition hikes while simultaneously showing little interest in greater state spending for colleges. Some business leaders have pushed back, arguing for limited increases in tuition as a way to keep economic drivers like the University of Texas at Austin from being underfunded.

This divide over tuition illustrates the larger difference between the two sides. Business Republicans see the importance of maintaining strong public institutions, which is why they are not reflexively anti-government. Tea party Republicans value a college education, but that doesn’t stop them from showing hostility to government institutions when it comes time to fund them.

The pushback by center-right Republicans is good for the GOP. Parties generally can’t survive when they let their most extreme members take over.

That’s true for Democrats, too. The party of JFK quickly morphed into the party of George McGovern and lost the middle voter. Democrats regained centrists under Bill Clinton, but they are in danger of losing them again under Barack Obama.

In Texas, though, Republicans face the greater risk of being marginalized. And it is by their own extreme’s monolithic approach to governing the state. Cruz exemplifies the tea party ethos when he promises to battle — and never compromise — with those who don’t see political solutions the same way.

There is a certain appeal to that approach. It goes back to the mythic American ideal of the individual standing up against hostile forces.

But it’s also central to the struggle within the Texas GOP, which dates to the end of the George W. Bush era of state government.

As governor, Bush crafted a center-right agenda with conservative Democrats and pragmatic Republicans on issues such as improving accountability of educators, finding a sustainable way to fund schools and welcoming immigrants in the state. He had a line in his speeches that summed up this approach: Government if necessary, but not necessarily government.

Yet a revolution began after Perry took over as governor in 2001 and the predecessors of today’s tea partiers elected Midland Republican Tom Craddick as House speaker in 2003. Budget fights have ensued, culminating with Perry leading the charge last year against using the state’s significant reserve fund to offset spending cuts.

Chamber of Commerce Republicans from Dallas to Austin urged legislators to use some of the rainy day fund, but the tea party prevailed. The fund was not touched and, instead, deeper cuts than necessary were made, especially in education programs.

That’s the larger reason business Republicans need to stand their ground in this internal struggle. The battle within the GOP is not only about politics. It is about Texas and the type of institutions it hopes to maintain.

William McKenzie is a Dallas Morning News editorial columnist and moderates Texas Faith at dallasnews.com/texasfaith and The Education Front at dallasnews.com/educationfront. His email address is wmckenzie@dallasnews.com.

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About William McKenzie

Bill joined The News in 1991, after spending 12 years in the wilds of Washington, D.C. The University of Texas grad worked there for 1980 presidential candidate John Anderson and then edited the Ripon Forum. Texas drew Bill back home to join the editorial board, where he writes editorials and a weekly column. The Fort Worth native spearheaded the launch of Texas Faith, a weekly online discussion about religion, politics and culture. He has followed George W. Bush closely and extensively covered Texas politics and the state's water needs. He and his wife are raising enthusiastic twins.

Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas

Education: The University Of Texas, bachelor of business administration, 1976